I just discovered you yesterday Will, and immediately subbed..I upgraded from a d3300 to a D7100 a couple yrs ago because of the build and controls on the 7100..of course since then, there has been the 7200, 7500, and the ultimate crop D500..but.. I am so happy with my "old" d7100 and have no desire to change..videos like yours keep my head straight..thanks ! the $ I save goes towards quality used FF lenses :)

I have 3 D700s and a D4. I love these cameras and I got them in mint condition cheap with a low SC. I have a D850 but love using my older Nikons! It is all about the light and composition. Love your videos!

Agree 100%. I'm just learning. Spent $300 on a Nikon D7100 and $200 on a D700 a couple of years later. Still learning with both and having fun. They are better cameras than I am a photographer. So hope to use both for a while. Love the channel.

You mean to tell me if I by a Leica M10 I'm not going to be a better photographer? Darn!!! Oh for the love of Bugs Bunny's mother!! what am I going to do now. I guess I'll have to stick with what I have. Great video, buddy!

Hi Will, You are so right on this. Love the podcasts and your work man!

I agree with pretty much everything you said. When it comes to get and someone asks me I put it as: Better gear will make many things easier and a few things possible. Also agree with people getting bored of the "wow" images. Scroll through basically any social media, I swear everyone is using the same presets. It's the really creative, or raw, natural shots, that grab my attention.

Hopefully this answered some questions for all you new guys out there. Any other questions feel free to ask - Will

Well said brother . Plenty of low cost options out there . Cameras such as the D7000 , D600 series along with the D700 can make it a low cost entry point .

We used to shoot weddings with a Pentax, one 50mm lens and a crude Honeywell flash or with a lone Yashicamat and a flash. That is it other than a few rolls of film and spare batteries. (pro or rookie!)

Dude. Amazing images, wow

Very well said. And you have a new subscriber

Hi Will.... Another thought provoking video!! Another well thought out video!! I can't disagree with what you said but I would add a couple thoughts that I don't think you talked about. You suggested someone who is just starting out to get the D700 and I don't disagree with you but I would strongly recommend for new photographers to get the D700 NOW!! My reason for suggesting it is I would love to have a D700 but I have too much invested in DX lenses for my D300, D3300, D7100, and D7200. I do have a 50mm f1. 8 G lens I could use with a D700 but my point is the time to do that is when you're starting and not already invested in a certain format or lenses especially if you are not professionally into photography. And your other point on many photographers going back to minimalist photography I can relate. With the purchase of my Pixel 3A cell phone Im going to shoot with it to challenge me - to make me more aware of lighting, composition, etc. Best of luck in your photography journey. Duane

I find your channel very intriguing and different in a good way. So many other youtubers / photographers are so cookie cutter in their presentation, and love how grounded these videos are. I don’t shoot professionally, but learned from the best in the industry when I supported artists at ILM/LucasFilm. I picked up photography to better understand the industry lingo and got sucked into doing dance photography with my Nikon D750. To a point, I think I look at upgrades differently. Instead of the immediate cost. I look at how it will be used over time. I got the D750 when it launched some 5 years ago. Currently waiting on my order for my Sony A7R IV. The cost of the Sony will be worth it’s use over time. I really need IBIS since I shoot primes and run and gun photography with dance. The autofocus jump is also something I look forward to. We all have our reasons for upgrades, and I don’t think the fact that I don’t shoot for money should be a factor in my choice of cameras down the line. But more about the added features that come with time and technology moving forward. I consider myself more of a hybrid photographer. Not a beginner, but not pro either. That may change soon as I look at options going forward. But I’m currently dealing with my battle with cancer right now, and I’m using photography as my outlet for now. Ultimately I would love to be an additional photographer for a wedding shoot just to have the experience and learn from those who do it as their bread and butter. I wouldn’t look to charge a dime, just be an extra camera and eye for the day to learn and make some connections. ~ Christopher M

Shout out to you buddy for mentioning my comment! I just saw this today...August, September and October have been crazy busy but I eventually get to all your videos. Keep up the great content!

What I did when I started out I found a nice used Nikon D7100 and I buy some nice glass for it. And you can find some really nice older Nikon glass that is still razor sharp. I’m not a big fan kit lenses but you can use some older Nikon D lenses that will take amazing pictures. Even the older manual focus Nikon lenses will produce great images. I am not a fan of the Nikon d3000 & d5000 series cameras due not being able to use the older screw driven lenses. I prefer at least a D 7000 series camera or an older FX body that has the focus motor built into the body. And starting out on DSLR I feel will make you a better photographer than going straight to Mirrorless. Enjoy what you do have And don’t worry what everybody else is using. Practice with what you have

I've been binge watching your videos all morning and I love your truthfulness. I own a Nikon d3300 that hasn't been used much in the past four years (except in December 2018 for moms 80th birthday). When I decided that I wanted to get back into photography this past January all my photographer friends convinced me to go full frame so I bought the D750 and I love it. Gear lost is real because I'm itching to get a Z6 or an d850, but i refuse to buy either until i start making some money to justify the cost. After watching this video I may pickup a D700 for less than $400 as a backup and so my wife can learn on full frame and use some of the lenses that I currently have. Thanks for your channel and keep up the good work. BTW I have taken really good pictures with that D3300 I just don't use it as much as the D750.

Great video and couldn't agree more! I wish I could tell every person starting in photography what to buy. And my answer would always be if you want to go Nikon, buy a D700 and a 50mm 1.8G. If you want to go canon buy a 5D classic or 5D II and the 50mm 1.8 STM. And instead of spending extra money on fancy cameras or lenses, invest in lighting. Get a decent light stand and a 2' x 3' softbox and either a speedlight or a reasonably priced studio light like an Alien Bee or similar. And a reflector. Just that for starters and build from there! I recently discovered the work of Luke Fontana who has shot with some of Hollywoods top celebrities. 95% of his work is done with just a D800 (pretty cheap used these days), a 50mm 1.8G, an Elinchrom D-Lite RX4 and a 39" Elinchrom Squarebox. That's it!

I use d3100 +50mm 1.8 AF or 1.8D. It works fine, but I lack the semi-auto modes for non-CPU lenses from the 80s, because I own 70-210 and 75-150 both series E. You can achieve great images on low budget cameras. It just takes more effort with all the manual control.

Will... Your words are like gospel 😊. I debate with my photographer friends about gear and different cameras. Sony, nikon, Canon all have great output but it's the eye that makes a great shot. I bought my Z6 for the ease of use and the better focus. I still have a D610 and I have no problem using that for a shoot.. Again.. Well said. 💯 Percent

A D700 is a great camera. We have to understand that 4x the megapixels are needed to get 2x detail resolution. Do we need 45 MP? Generally not. We get so much detail in headshots that we need to blur e.g. pores in our images.

I feel we should split these debates in three: artistic, technical, cognitive development. And then bring these together.

My 2 cents experience. I am a non-pro enthusiast. Been shooting since the days of film with Minoltas, Nikons and Konicas. Nowaday, I shoot mostly Pentax DSLRs. I travel a lot for long periods of time. If I want to travel light and cover all my needs (I love street photography and all-around travel), I use a Ricoh GRii and a Leica C-lux. These cameras have proven to provide high quaity results. I have a XZ-10 Olympus as a backup tha can produce excellent quality. Thank you for your video! And you are RIGHT! It is very similar to wine tasting!! Blind tasting will yield you interesting results. Same with photos.

While I shot Sony now I have shot Nikon in the past. Sony have two cameras that are best bang for the buck and Nikon has a few also in my opinion. D700 great output D800e Great detail and output D7100 apsc and great A7rii great output and detail A7riii still a lot a cash but worth every penny A6300 Nikon has a stable of lens. Calibration is key tho. 105dc is flawless if you can get the focus right. 180 also.

I'm glad there's someone on KZfaq who shares similar ideology to me

Thanks for this video. People enjoy this kind of topic. People want to be challenged to be resourceful and clever. A cheap 35 or 50 1.8 puts you right in the big leagues. Even on a DX body. The rest is up to you to learn the craft. I really recommend that people use flickr.com. It is the most encouraging photographic community around. The Strobist group has been invaluable for me since like 2005.

And additional comment. As I said, among Pentax DSLRs, I shoot with a Ricoh Grii and a Leica C-lux. I belong to several FB groups such as Pentaxians, Street Level Photography, and Black and White Photography. My photos have been approved and appreciated in those groups, and I am not a pro. Which means, that you can take excellent photos with gear that is not necessarily expensive. You just have to practice, learn from others, and develop your own creativity. And always keep an open/learning mind, and accept constructive critism! Peace to all!

Again great content mate. Have you ever had uncle Bob or aunty Mary walk in front of your shot with their camera or phone thinking their shot is more important than anyone else's. How would you feel with that.

Considering that the majority of field professional photography was done with 35mm SLRs prior to the maturation of the DSLR market, one should be able to take stunning images with a 35mm fully manual SLR and a 50mm manual focus prime if they know what they're doing. But, recommending the right equipment for the job and the needs of the user, while remaining within budget will make the task much faster and easier. You will have a higher hit rate with more current gear. Full stop. And while the obsession with file resolution took a temporary break (now back with full force), it's hard to recommend shooting anything that produces less than 24MP images to provide the maximum options for output, particularly if considering commercial use. It would hurt to take the shot or shots of a lifetime with a camera that shot lower res images through lower quality glass if alternatives were available. Still can be done for under $1k with a bit of knowledge and the used market.

My breakdown for investment: 40% -> Knowledge (Brain, Eye, ) 30% -> Lighting (Flash, Strobes, etc) 20% -> Lens 10% -> Camera Sensor

Amen

As a hobbyist slightly advanced amateur I don’t have the same view as a person feeding their family with photography. Most of my gear is used I only bought two cameras brand new and one of those I bought in 1984! I do know that if I owned a business in photography that I would have to have sturdier equipment and would never show up with my thrift store tripod I know it wouldn’t make it . I too have gear acquisition syndrome but I have a wife so I have a buffer to stop me from going crazy spending money.

Implicitly commenting on my camera, she said, I know somebody who does weddings with an iPhone. Of course (and it is very expensive). That might be an artistic choice. Now try low light or flash. With a simple 2MP camera I could get prints up to 5"x7" or of abstract subjects without tiny details 8" x 10". With 12MP printing 8" x 10" was fine. Then I moved to 24MP and prints of A2 size looked excellent (A2 has 4x the area of A4 wich is about 8"x12".) Showing some 24MP shots with a new lens to a 91 year old man, he pinch zoomed on the tablet: it's not sharp. He was right. My big shock came when shots with my 35/1.4G and 85/1.4G showed a terrible magenta cast with clear bright green lines (chromatic aberration). The glass anti-aliasing layer across the sensor likely caused the magenta fog. With a higher resolution sensor, we do not need anti-aliasing. I migrated to Z 7 with two native primes fttb. That is a lot of money. If you consider a D700, alternatively a D800E (without anti-aliasing filter) would be a very nice camera and good F lenses should become abundant in the 2nd hand market. All nice, but this was preceded by decades of film. For new photographers the biggest challenge is to learn to 'see' a photograph before you take it. This requires some 10,000 shots taken consciously: i want to shoot this composition, shoot it, look at the result. Digital, smartphone, prime lenses will accelerate such a learning process. In parallel, take a course in perspective drawing and another in art history and composition. Because the camera does not decide the story and the composition (framing), nor does it fire at the decisive moment.

Depends.I just make nice photos using my Nikon D40x camera and old Sigma 15-30 in manual mode.But.If you want catch fast bird, no way D40x can do it. And even for middle class Nikon camera its heavy task. Nikon D500 do it easy .Nikon D500 is statement camera like D700 but for nature & wild life.Very sad I sold it. So, different purposes need different gear, but of course nothing will replace fantasy & creative view of photographer.

Weddings are the more difficult side of the photography, every one who had try to deal with a "Bridezilla" will understand :) Beside that, very good points in this video

D700 vs D750? D810? How do they compare in image quality?

I shoot with a D300s that I bought with a grip and lens for $400 Canadian. Sold the lens for a quick $100 and I use a reversed Pentax 50mm 2.0 that I purchased for $35 for my macro work. The images are amazing, in my opinion ( maybe not others. 😜) But I spent less than $400 to do what I love and I'm only getting better at it..... Oh and larp also means live action role playing. Those are the guys that you see in the park beating each other with foam swords and they're dressed like they're from midieval times.

This is the first video that I do not agree with you, I strongly recommend D3 instead of D700, it cost the same money and you get two card slots, vertical grip and 9fps with it. Keep up a good work Bro!

I'm actually going to be selling my d700 actually for $500 with 4 16gb cards, battery grip 3 batteries, and a $50mm 1.8. I will sell it in 2 weeks

Really, tell that to a product photographer who has a client that demands 100 mega pixel capability, or a beach resort photographer shooting for Ad Agencies representing resort properties. In my business a Nikon D7100 suffices but in big time photography it’s a different story. sterlingimagesphotography.com